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The Foundation's first major charitable venture was its 1990 construction of New Horizons at Choate, LLC (NHC), a not-for-profit assisted living community in Woburn, Massachusetts. Built from the former Choate Memorial Hospital following its bankruptcy, NHC now houses 125 seniors from diverse backgrounds. It is considered by many to be one of the finest communities of its type in New England, and served as a State model for assisted living residences.

New Horizons at Marlborough, LLC (NHM) became a part of Cummings Foundation, Inc. when the stock of NHM was donated to the Foundation on March 31, 2002. NHM currently serves 400 seniors in one of New England's largest and finest retirement communities. Located just off U.S. Route 20 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, NHM offers a wide array of living options, beginning with 154 very "independent" residences in five buildings called "The Meadows."

In 2004, Veterinary School at Tufts, LLC (VST) became the Foundation's third major operating entity. Closely affiliated with Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, VST supports the ongoing educational objectives of this preeminent school, which is New England's only school of veterinary medicine.

Directly or otherwise, William S. and Joyce M. Cummings of Winchester, Massachusetts provided the Foundation's financial base. Joyce is a former hospital dietitian who graduated from the University of Alabama and completed her dietetic internship at Massachusetts General Hospital. Among other activities, she has been a director of VNA Hospice Care, Inc. and Winchester Community Music School, and president of ENKA Society of Winchester, as well as co-chair of Winchester Friends of VNA Hospice Care, Inc. She is also a former trustee of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and chaired the women's golf program at Winchester Country Club.

Bill founded Cummings Properties, LLC (CPL) and several dozen other corporations, and is involved in numerous community activities. He is a 1958 graduate and a trustee emeritus of Tufts University, and was also an overseer of Tufts Medical School. He has also served as an elected member and chairman of the Winchester Planning Board, and as a director of Winchester Country Club, Winchester Hospital and a Woburn bank. He is president of not-for-profit New Horizons at Choate and the much larger New Horizons at Marlborough retirement communities, and was founding publisher of three community newspapers. Bill is also president of Cummings Foundation, Inc., and received an honarary Doctor of Public Service degree from Tufts University in 2006.

The Foundation's current Community Trustees include: Joseph A. Abate, M.D., orthopedic surgeon; Lawrence S. Bacow, president of Tufts University; The Honorable Margot Botsford, Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice; Paul C. Casey, former Massachusetts state representative; Carol A. Donovan, former state representative; Dr. Deborah Turner Kochevar, Dean of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University; Dr. Marilyn Cummings Morris, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital; Prof. Jason Z. Morris, Fordham University; Richard C. Ockerbloom, retired president of the Boston Globe; and Michael H. Pascavage, AIA, executive vice president of Skanska USA Commercial Development, Inc. No Community Trustee is employed by CFI or CPL, or by any of their affiliated companies.

Charter Trustees of the Foundation include: Joyce M. Cummings of Winchester, MA; Patricia A. Cummings, who is assistant dean at Orthodox Hebrew Academy of San Francisco; William S. Cummings, president, Cummings Foundation; and Robert O'Connor, executive director, New Horizons at Marlborough.

Cummings Foundation concentrates much of its funding within communities in which Cummings Properties' staff live, and through which many assets of the Foundation were originally derived. The McKeown Scholars Program is a competitive program, which has awarded merit scholarships totalling more than $1.5 million since 1996, including more than $400,000 to graduates of Woburn Memorial High school alone.

The Foundation often seeks to leverage its awards to encourage other giving, or a more productive future for the receiving entity. On at least six occasions, it has provided the lead gift to encourage new, exciting new buildings for the receiving entity.

Beyond the size of its $50 million commitment to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, the Foundation's new, very entrepreneurial relationship with Cummings School should meaningfully link the two institutions, as Cummings Foundation evolves from a private operating foundation to a grant-making foundation over the next eight or 10 years. In the meantime, the Foundation continues to express strong hope that its example at Tufts will soon be emulated and greatly surpassed by others.

Cummings Foundation, Inc. (CFI) developed the McKeown Scholars Program in 1996, in memory of James L. McKeown, late president of Cummings Properties and former managing trustee of the Foundation, who died suddenly in 1996 at the age of 41.

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In his honor, CFI set aside one million dollars to fund the issuance of numerous $5,000 merit scholarships each spring, to outstanding college-bound high school seniors in communities where Cummings Properties has substantial interests. Through June 2004 CFI has awarded in excess of one million dollars in scholarships, while the fund principal has grown to more than $1,600,000!

Mr. McKeown was a well known business leader, widely respected for his outstanding professional expertise, as well as his unwavering integrity, compassion, and far-reaching desire to provide opportunities to others, particularly young people. He left his wife, Denise, and two very young daughters, Kelly and Molly.

A Woburn native and graduate of Woburn High School, Salem State College, and University of Vermont, Mr. McKeown also studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and had lectured at Massachusetts Center for Continuing Legal Education. He was a marathon runner, competitive swimmer, bicyclist, golfer, and tennis player.

Spending his entire working career with Cummings Properties, Mr. McKeown maintained many community roles, including service as a member and treasurer of Woburn Industrial Development Finance Authority and president of Woburn Business Association. He was once selected as "Boy of the Year" at what is now Woburn Boys and Girls Club. Closely associated with that organization nearly all his life, he went on to become the first-ever Boys and Girls Club alumnus to be elected a director, and then served two terms as its youngest president, as well.

Eligibility and selection criteria for the McKeown Scholars Program represent qualities, values and achievements Mr. McKeown embodied and would most likely have considered himself in determining award recipients. Some of these criteria include scholarship, excellent writing ability, community service, reputation for fairness and integrity, and a demonstrated concern for helping others.

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The McKeown Scholars Program per se recognizes the very top high school graduates in most of the communities where Cummings Properties has significant interests. To be considered as potential McKeown Scholars, candidates must be in the upper 20 percent of their graduating class, and must then write a 500-word essay under exam conditions on a subject that is first announced at the hour of the essay competition.

All essays are then number-coded and anonymously graded, and a committee at each high school selects the actual $5,000 merit award winners for that community. Selection is based on essay results and personal interviews, plus other evidence of each candidate's writing skills, community service, and overall aptitude. Financial need is not considered a factor, and Cummings Properties has no direct involvement in the actual selection of any winners. All winners also receive handsome commendatory plaque at an award ceremony at their respective community's high school.